Severus Snape Lives On
by xxstaindrosesxx
Summary: After Snape had been bitten by the snake, Nagini, and betrayed by Lord Voldemort, he should have been dead. Instead, he managed to escape and find a way to survive. However, surviving means having to live on in any way necessary to survive.
1. Chapter 1: Finding Lost Strength

Severus Snape laid on the ground of the Shrieking Shack, struggling to stay alive. Droplets of blood spilled from his wounds, left by the snake Nagini. Nagini's poison coursed through his body, flowing through every vein which blood flowed through. Every breath had been an agonizing second, which felt more like an agonizing minute. His eyes remained closed as images of his lost Lily sped through his mind. It had only been a few minutes ago that he had looked into the eyes of Harry Potter; the eyes of his lost Lily. He hoped those eyes would be the last things he would see before his death, but as fate stepped in, he had been reminded of the Bezoar in his pocket.

Severus Snape had taken this Bezoar, the one magical object that cured most poisons, just after Harry left. He knew the Bezoar wouldn't cure the poison, but he knew it could delay the effects long enough to get to a cure. He figured it had been hopeless, but he took the Bezoar and left his fate in a higher being's power.

Severus Snape laid there still, grasping to the edges of the world. His eyes remained closed, and he started to drift off from the poison and the blood loss. He wondered if the end finally had come to him as a white light appeared in his unconsciousness. The white light approached closer, giving form to the figure of a beautiful woman. A long, white gown flowed in all directions as it delicately covered the woman but acted as if it were being blown around by a mystical wind. Her long, red locks surrounded her face and a gold glow emanated from every fiber of her being.

"Lily?" Snape gasped, staring at the angelic woman.

She nodded silently, overwhelming Snape with her beauty and sun-like glow.

"Am I dead?" He asked, hypnotized by her goddess-like beauty.

"No," replied the angel-like Lily. "You have more lives to save."

Severus looked confused and upset by her answer. "Save?" he questioned. "But I've hurt so many people. I killed Dumbledore and I killed you in a way."

Lily's glow gave off warmth. "These were hard times Severus. You only killed Dumbledore because he asked you to when the time was right. You didn't kill me. You pleaded for my life, and I gave my life for my son. Nothing could have changed that. You are a good man for what little options you were given in life. You helped protect my son even though it must have hurt you horribly, and now he is safe and Voldemort has been defeated." She explained with caring words.

"I don't care if he has been defeated. There is nothing for me to go back to." He stated, truly believing it.

"You will soon find you are wrong of this accusation." Lily said before she started to fade away.

The glowing goddess-like figure of Lily drew farther away. The light became less, like a sun setting. Severus tried to reach out to her as she disappeared into complete, black, darkness. "No!" he shouted. "Come back!" It had been too late. Lily no longer blessed him with her presence, and his eyes slowly opened. His vision blurred, but after a few blinks, it went away. His whole body felt like it had been broken with the excruciating pain and the burning sensation of the poison. Luckily, the poison had lessened but he groaned in pain, nonetheless.

Severus felt confused by Lily's comment. What did he possibly have to go back to or to live for? In his heart, he knew there must have been something since Lily stated there had been. He knew he would follow Lily to the end of the world and back if she had asked him to, and she gave him the power to carry on. Seeing her and hearing her words of wisdom, gave him strength. He had to carry on for her no matter how painful it might be.

Severus still laid there, knowing he must force himself to get up. However, he felt doubtful since Voldemort had taken the Elder Wand, which he had been using. His old wand sat undisturbed in the desk drawer of the Headmaster's office where he had resided. He needed this wand, but even with it, he couldn't do spells because the Ministry of Magic would detect it, and he didn't want to be found just yet. The wizarding world remained a mess still, and people might claim him as a murderer and a Death Eater still He didn't want that. He would have to hide and heal the muggle way until it became safe.

Severus turned over so he faced the ground. He groaned as he did so, feeling like his whole body would break. He pressed his palms against the dusty wood of the Shrieking Shack floor. He winced and groaned as he tried to push himself up. He failed and fell back down, his face pressing against the dirty floor and dust moved as his raged breath sent the dust soaring. He wondered if Lily had too much faith in him since his body felt like needles were being poked into every fiber of his being.

Severus knew he had to get up and move on. He had to do it for Lily and maybe for the life he could still have. He tried to push himself up, but yet again, he failed. This time, he tried again right away. He pushed his palms against the wood for a third time, pushing himself up, but feeling like a bag of bricks were weighing him down. He managed to use his legs to push himself even further. He pressed one knee against the floor, groaning in pain and gradually pushing himself higher. After several minutes, he managed to place both of his feet firmly on the ground.

Severus felt like toppling over so he leaned against the wall of the Shrieking Shack. He wanted to just give up and let whatever hell he deserved take him, but for some unknowable reason, he just couldn't. He staggered as he started to walk towards the stairs of the Shrieking Shack entrance. He staggered as he walked, and when he reached the first step, he placed his foot forward, but he lost his balance and tumbled forward. He fell down the stairs, hitting and grazing various parts of his body as he hit every step.

Snape fell and tumbled down the stairs like a boulder rolling down a bumpy hill. He landed at the foot of the stairs in an awkward position. He groaned loudly and it echoed, but not as loud as his blood-filled cough echoed. The blood trickled out of his mouth and onto the floor like a warm, sticky, crimson puddle. Now, Severus had been in even worse shape and everything started to dim. Everything went black.

The blackness seemed like an eternal abyss until a light, similar to that of Lily's, approached from the distance. This figure stood before Severus, glowing like an angel, but in the male sense. Dumbledore stood there in his usual robes, long white beard, and trademark glasses. "Severus," Dumbledore said, as if trying to make Snape aware of his presence.

Severus looked up at Dumbledore while in his vision-like state. "Dumbledore?" he questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"To tell you hope is not lost. More lives can be saved by you and one in specific will need your saving." Dumbledore explained, looking like a heavenly being.

Severus looked and felt confused. "Who is this person?" He asked.

Dumbledore had on his inquisitive look. "I cannot give you details. In life, you must make your own details." He replied, cryptically.

"Please. I'm so lost." Severus begged.

"You will soon find your way." Dumbledore explained, before starting to fade away into the blackness.

Dumbledore disappeared and before Severus could respond, his eyes opened and jerked him out of his unconsciousness. His body still seared with pain, but for some reason, he had this uncontrollable will to go on. He knew he probably lingered between life and death and had internal bleeding, but he had to go on. He still laid at the foot of the stairs, and miraculously, none of his bones had broken during the fall. On the other hand, he felt like everything in his body had been broken, like his body had been a shell that never belonged to him.

Severus, determined to get up, pushed his palms against the dusty surface again. He used every ounce of his strength to push himself up, even though he felt like he had none left. He wondered where the strength came from, but he didn't complain. He forced himself up, groaning and aching, but he managed to do so. He now stood again, firmly on his feet with the uncontrollable will power. The power grew as he found his way out of the Shrieking Shack and luckily; the Whomping Willow had left him alone.

Luck had definitely been on Severus' side. He kept staggering along, now on the grounds of Hogwarts. He knew he would have to hide and be careful, but for some reason, there seemed to be no one outside but a few dead bodies. He staggered past one, seeing the lifeless corpse of Colin Creevey. He felt his stomach churn, wanting him to heave, but he knew he didn't have time. He continued to stumble along and found the outdoors to be very silent. He made sure to ignore the dead bodies, which contributed to the silence, but he worried the battle had ended with many casualties, and even if the side of good had won, he still found himself in a troublesome situation.

After what seemed like hours, but had only been minutes, Severus found an entrance into the castle. He slowly stepped inside, only to find more silence and emptiness. His only company had been the various dead bodies and rubble in the hallways. He staggered along the hallways, making sure to avoid the bodies. He kept an eye out for anyone who might catch him as he passed damaged statues and ripped paintings. He made his way to the potions storage; leaning against the cold, stonewall of the castle at times for support.

Eventually, Severus made his way to the potions storage. He opened the wooden door and it creaked slightly, but no one had been around to hear it. He stepped inside the storage and grabbed a black backpack type bag, which had been left on the floor for emergencies. He opened it up and started grabbing various potions, which might help him in the long run. He picked up Healing Potions, Blood Replenishing Potions, Pepper-Up Potions, and even the potion that would cure Nagini's poison, which still lingered in his veins. Once he finished grabbing potions, he zipped up the bag and left the storage.

Now Severus knew he would need his old wand just in case things became really dire. He continued to stagger, making his way to the phoenix statue of the Headmaster's office. He stumbled past more dead bodies and rubble as he felt the uncontrollable strength rushing through him still. He felt sad to see even the phoenix statue had been damaged in the battle.

Severus uttered the password and the statue ascended, revealing the hidden stairs. He slowly climbed the stairs, leaning on the wall so he wouldn't fall again. Eventually, he reached the top of the stairs and opened the door. He stepped inside, staggered over to his desk, opened the top drawer, and pulled out his wand. He placed the wand in his robes, which were torn and dirty. Then, he went back to the stairs and descended down them, leaving the Headmaster's office.

Severus walked away from the statue and started to head for the nearest exit with his wand and bag of potions. At one point, he ducked behind a statue, but what he thought had been a person, had been nothing more then a really big shadow. After his false scare, he made his way out of the castle. He just staggered on, walking towards the Forbidden Forest. He never knew what had been on the other side, but he figured it was his best option for hiding and escaping.

Snape stumbled into the forest, hoping nothing would attack him. Luckily, the sun had started to rise so creatures didn't come out as much. He continued to walk along, determined to discover the other side of the forest. Instead, his determination weakened slightly when he tripped on a tree branch. He yelled in pain; his ankle now throbbing. He picked himself up with lots of effort and pushed on as if he had something to live for. Then again, Lily and Dumbledore said he did.

Severus traveled on, discovering the forest had been denser then expected. He walked for what seemed like hours before he reached the other side. He noticed nothing but a spot in the distance. Everything between the forest and the spot seemed like a vast, grassy desert. He knew he had to reach this spot, hoping it would have some type of life force.

Severus could feel his unknowable strength wane as he ventured closer to the spot. His mouth and throat were dry with thirst, but he knew he had to reach his destination. He kept going even though his body felt heavy and his eyes felt tired. He just pushed himself forward until the spot had become a visible building.

The building looked a little run down and had a blue-green color to it. Severus looked up at a lighted sign that read, "Motel." He knew he had no money for a room, and right now, all he could feel had been the pain and tiredness of his body. He stepped closer, seeing the various doors with room numbers on it. He staggered over to room 13, and he knew he would need help. He just hoped someone would be in the room and help him. Severus knocked on the door, and then he fell to the ground in weakness. The last thing he witnessed had been the door opening and seeing a pair of feet before returning to the black unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2: Some Wounds Don't Heal

Severus' eyes slowly opened, but he blinked because the light hurt his eyes. He had no idea where he had ended up. The last thing he remembered, he knocked on a door and fell unconscious. He wondered if he still laid in the same place, but the image of the door opening, and seeing a pair of feet, came back to him. He definitely had to be somewhere else. That person seriously could not have left him there, or could they? After all, he looked like he went through hell and back, so who would take the chance of helping a complete stranger like that?

Snape decided to let his senses kick in to discover his location. He noticed his body laid firmly on something, which felt neither cold, nor hard. This eliminated the possibility of him still being on the ground outside. He moved slightly, and the foundation beneath him felt soft and only moved a little bit. Then, he looked at himself and noticed he had been lying on a bed. The bed didn't bother him as much as his appearance. He still wore his black robes, but they were torn in spots and had patches of dirt all over them. He could see the various bites left by Nagini, and cuts which shown through the rips in his robes. He also could feel the stringiness of his hair, which clung to his face from sweat that formed when he struggled to travel with his injuries.

After Severus overcame the disgust of his appearance, he gazed at his surroundings. He discovered he had been in a small room, most likely meant for one. The curtains over the only window in the room appeared to be brown and dingy. He discovered a small, brown, coffee table with a couple of matching chairs, a nightstand by the bed, and a TV which still had dials on it to change the channel instead of buttons or a remote. He looked to the ground and noticed an ugly, brown, shag carpet. He looked back up, discovering two doors: one, which led to the entrance, and the other to the bathroom. He didn't even want to know what the bathroom had been like, so he groaned, feeling like he had been thrown into some 70's sitcom.

As Severus studied the room, his eyes moved to the door because the knob started to move. It sounded like someone trying to pick the lock, just like in the movies. After a few seconds of this chaos, the door opened, leaving no time for Severus to react and hide. A young woman entered the room, carrying two plastic bags full of items. She had long black hair, most likely dyed; blue eyes, and she wore a pair of plain blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt. The thing most noticeable about her, had to be the black around her eyes, looking like that of a raccoon.

Snape forced himself to sit up in bed as the woman turned around. She looked at him; her eyes and face expressionless. She walked over to the bed and placed the plastic bags on the floor. She looked him in the face after she studied the condition of his body. "I thought you might never wake up." She explained.

Severus studied her and felt surprised by her speech. "How long have I been unconscious?" He asked, afraid of the answer.

"Only about a day," she answered before kneeling down and rummaging through one of the plastic bags. "We should get you cleaned up and take care of your wounds."

This reminded Severus of his bag of potions. "Where's my bag?" He asked, afraid it might be lost.

She reached her hands underneath the bed and pulled out his black bag. He quickly snatched it from her, not even thanking her.

"Rude," she stated before standing up and reaching for the bag. "Let me help you with that."

"No." He said in his usual undertone. He grabbed her wrist, stopping her from touching the bag.

The young woman winced as he held her wrist. "You're hurting me." She stated, displaying the pain with her wincing.

Severus knew he didn't even squeeze her wrist. "I didn't even squeeze your wrist." He stated, knowing it had been the truth. He released her wrist and she quickly snatched it away. He could have sworn he noticed a bruise on her wrist.

She held her wrist for a moment before Severus opened the bag and pulled out three potions: an Anti-Venom potion, Healing Potion, and a Blood Replenishing Potion. He opened up each different vial and guzzled each one down. He immediately felt the potions start to work. Color started to come back to him, even though he had always been naturally pale. His wounds started to heal slightly, but not enough to go without bandages. Also, his body no longer seared from Nagini's poison, but since he waited so long to take the potion, there could be delayed problems in the future.

Severus felt like he might actually live, but his undying thirst made him doubtful. "I'm thirsty." He croaked from his dry throat and mouth.

The woman nodded, and she walked over to a mini-fridge, which had been inside the hotel room. The fridge matched the decor by being brown, and the woman obviously didn't care as she pulled a bottle of water out of the tiny refrigerator. She walked back over to Snape and handed him the bottle.

Severus snatched the bottle away, opened it quickly, and started to guzzle it down. Half of the bottle had been drunk before he stopped and looked at the woman who now watched him drink like a pig. This was the same woman who pulled him in, from off of the ground, possibly saving him. "Thank you." He stated with a questioning pause at the end, as if looking for her name.

"Paige. My name is Paige," she responded. "And you?"

"I'm Snape." He stated blandly with a slight croak in his voice still.

Paige looked at him as if she wanted to laugh at his name. Severus noticed and glared at her. "What is so funny about my last name?" He asked in his trademark undertone.

Paige trembled at the sound of his voice, and she seemed to become serious. "I assumed it was your first name," she explained. "What is your first name then?"

"I'm not going to tell you." He responded, feeling annoyed with her questions already.

"Why not?" She asked curiously.

Severus' rude behavior started to kick in. "The same reason you wouldn't tell me who gave you that black eye and bruised wrist if I had asked you. I feel it is none of your business." He explained rudely with no reason to be rude at all.

"I would be nice to me, if I were you," she suggested. "I haven't told anyone where you are, but that can change if you make me change my mind."

"And why haven't you told anyone where I am?" He asked.

"The same reason no one knows where I am," she confessed. "I don't want to be found, and I know that neither do you."

"How do you know that I don't want to be found?" He asked, curiously.

"No one comes to a hotel room door, knocks on it, and carries a bag full of bottles with weird liquid in them if they want to be found." She explained.

Severus' expression turned to anger, and he pulled out his wand before pointing it at her. Paige just wrinkled her forehead and raised an eyebrow. "You're pointing a stick at me. Am I supposed to be afraid of a stick?" She asked.

Severus groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's a wand. Witches and wizards use it to cast spells." He explained.

"I don't believe in magic," she confessed. "I think your injuries have made you delusional."

Severus realized she must be a muggle. He didn't really care at this particular moment because he needed someone on his side. "I can prove it to you," he stated. "I can't do a spell or they could locate me, but I can have you drink a Healing Potion. It will make those bruises disappear." He reached into his black bag and pulled out a Healing Potion. He reached out his arm and handed it to her.

"How do I know that isn't some type of poison?" She asked, looking rather afraid to drink it.

Snape popped the stopper on the vial and drank a sip of it. He handed the potion back to her. "Now you know." He stated.

Paige grabbed the potion, put it to her lips, and drank it. After a few seconds, her body felt tingly, and she watched the bruises on her wrists disappear. "How come the potion didn't do the same for your injuries?" She asked.

"My injuries are more severe. In fact, I need some bandages." He explained.

"Technically, you need a bath first, to wash off all that dirt, dried blood, and help clean the wounds," she explained. "I'll go draw one up for you, and then help you in there."

"I don't need any help." Severus stated in his stubborn, usual way.

"The way you look suggests otherwise. You look like a train ran you over." Paige smirked before heading into the bathroom. She turned on the water, making it a perfect temperature. "Bubbles or no bubbles?" She asked from within the bathroom.

"Bubbles, considering you will be helping me, and I have no choice. Unless you want to see me naked, that is." He retorted, trying to be a jerk about the situation.

Paige poured three capfuls of bubble bath into the water. After a few minutes, she turned off the water and the bathtub was full of foamy bubbles and hot water. She walked back to Severus. "It's ready. I should help you get up." She offered.

"I don't need help." He stated once again. He forced himself up and out of bed, groaning in the process, but he did it without a whole lot of effort. The potions were obviously starting to work their magical effects. Paige tried to help him, but he brushed her aside as he walked to the bathroom. He held onto the wall at times for support, but most of it, was him walking on his own.

Paige followed him into the bathroom like he needed a chaperone or something. She walked past the mirror and noticed her black eyes were gone. She actually looked beautiful, and she admired herself for a minute. By the time her amazement of her appearance was over, Snape had already stripped off his robes and stepped into the bathtub. She turned around to see him sitting in the tub with the bubbles covering his naked body, except for his chest and up.

"This soap smells awful," complained Snape. "It smells like lemons."

Paige rolled her eyes. "It was either that or the soap that smells like Bengay. When you don't have a lot of money, it means you smell like lemons if you don't want to smell like a nursing home." She explained.

She grabbed a washcloth and kneeled down next to the tub. She went to clean a cut on his shoulder, but he grabbed her wrist. "I told you I don't need help." He stated in his cold voice.

Something on Severus' forearm grabbed Paige's attention. It looked like a skull with a snake running through it. "What's with the creepy tattoo?" She asked.

"It's not a tattoo," he answered. "It's a Dark Mark."

"What's a Dark Mark?" She asked while Severus still had a hold of her wrist.

"None of your business." He replied. He turned her wrist so he could see the back of it; the part where all the veins are. On her wrist, there was a scar that was vertical to about halfway down her forearm. It went up and down instead of across. "What's with the scar?" he asked, being rather nosey. "Looks like someone got a little suicidal. You even did it the right way."

Paige scoffed and pulled her wrist away before throwing the washcloth into the bathtub. "Clean yourself and put a towel on afterwards so I can bandage your cuts," she explained before heading towards the doorway to the bathroom. She stopped at the doorway and turned to look at him. "Those wounds will heal over time, but I'm sure that Dark Mark will never go away." She looked at her wrist and traced her finger over the long scar. "Some wounds don't heal." She explained, looking up at him before leaving the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3: Only Skin Deep

Severus remained in the bathroom for a while, and Paige sat in the main room. She prepared the bandages by opening a few. She also had some rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. In case of a really bad wound, she had some thread and a needle to sew it up. After she positioned all of the first aid supplies, she laid some clothes out on the main table in the room. She figured a black t-shirt and jeans were appropriate for him considering his usual dress robes were black, and she had found him at the front door to her room wearing them.

While Paige prepared to help Snape, he grabbed the washcloth she had thrown in the tub, and started cleaning all the dirt and grime off of himself. Blood, which had left his wounds so long ago, had stuck and dried to his skin. He tried to wash off the blood gently, trying to avoid pain when cleaning the more severe slashes on his skin. After years of being the Potions Master, his skin remained sensitive, even when there were no problems with it. Perhaps the different potions throughout the years had seeped into his skin, causing it to be sensitive, while others thought it was just karma for his cruel punishments and behavior. At the same time, no matter how sensitive his skin could be, no matter how pale it was, that skin remained tough, blocking out all the hurtful events of his life. For so many years, the skin of Severus Snape had remained hardened and untouched, until now, when he had been wounded in more ways than one, and only one thing had wounded him so badly in the past: the loss of Lily.

After Snape finished with his bath, he stepped out and drained the tub. The slightly red water swirled down the drain and disappeared, just like Lily had disappeared from his life within a few brief seconds. Grabbing a towel from off the rack, he wrapped it tightly around his waist. He turned to face the mirror and forced himself to look at the man he had become. The cold stare looking back at him, which were his own eyes, gave him a cold shiver. He wasn't sure he had liked the man he had become, but he did it for a reason. He did it to protect the one good thing Lily had left behind: Harry. What good did it do though? Harry probably would know the truth after Snape gave him his thoughts, but he had been so mean to Harry. Snape just could not stand to see Lily's eyes looking at him everyday, staring up at him in class, or glaring at him from something mean he had done.

Severus glanced at himself one last time in the mirror. His hair potentially might have not been greasy for once, which made it seem like it had been an eternity since it was smooth and shiny. He had become so used to the way he was, he didn't really understand the person he could be. Having the towel only cover him from his waist down to his knees, Severus exited the bathroom and walked into the main room. His bare chest and legs were exposed, pale, vulnerable, wounded, and yet somehow, he had managed to still look remotely decent after all of these long brutal years.

Paige turned around to see Snape in nothing but the towel. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red before a smirk came across her lips. "I'm surprised you clean up well at all," she joked. "Now, lay down on the bed so I can bandage you up."

Severus laid down on the bed, his back up against the headboard, and the towel still tightly wrapped around his waist. "I'm surprised you've even seen a man half naked." He retorted in his usual, cruel, monotone voice.

"I've seen a lot better looking men more than half naked," she grinned. "Ones that weren't half dead and laying on the doorstep to a hotel room."

Paige grabbed a cotton ball and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, but Snape snatched the alcohol from her. "I can do it myself," he explained. "I don't need a chaperone."

Paige pulled out a second bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Fine. You do the top half of your body, and I'll do your legs." She offered, handing him some bandages and cotton balls to go along with his bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Severus watched as Paige put the cotton ball over the opening of the rubbing alcohol bottle before tipping it upside down. She let a bit of the alcohol get onto the cotton ball before setting the bottle aside again. Wiping the cotton ball over one of the cuts to disinfect it, the cotton ball turned a light red color where the alcohol was at on it. The alcohol stung slightly, but Severus kept calm and started to clean the wounds on the top half of his body in the same manner as Paige.

"Did you really try to kill yourself?" Severus asked, referring to the long scar on her forearm while he continued to clean his cuts.

"No." Paige replied simply while already starting to bandage some of the cuts.

"Then, what happened?"

"My arm was broken in four different spots. They had to do surgery to realign the bone."

"How did that happen?"

"I don't feel like playing twenty questions right now." Paige stated before putting on the last bandage.

"Well, telling someone that some wounds don't heal is a pretty deep statement for someone of your age." Snape commented, still bandaging up a couple cuts.

"I'm twenty five years old," she replied. "That's not that young to actually know something in this world."

"Then you must know that some wounds are only skin deep," he suggested. "I'm sure you know that considering that broken arm was probably given to you by the same person who gave you the black eyes and bruises on your wrist. You know that the pain of the actual injury goes away, but the memory, that lives on forever. It's a wound that doesn't ever heal. Only someone you truly care about and love, can leave such a wound."

"Sounds like you would know all about it," she retorted. "This wound here is only skin deep." She pointed to the long gash on his lower leg, barely above the ankle. "It needs to be stitched up."

"Alright." Snape replied.

Paige wiped the cotton ball full of alcohol over the long gash. More blood stained the cotton ball since this wound happened to be more severe than the rest. Snape flinched his leg as it stung more than the rest of the cuts or wounds that had been cleaned. "It burns." He stated through gritted teeth, actually looking like it hurt.

Paige stood up and walked over to the miniature refrigerator. She pulled out a tiny bottle of alcohol, closed the door, and walked back over to Severus, handing him the bottle. He grabbed it and read the label. "Vodka?" he questioned. "That is the best you can come up with? Don't you have some of that painkiller that muggles use?"

"First of all, don't call me muggle again. Second of all, it's called aspirin and I'm not giving you any because it thins the blood, which would cause you to bleed more quickly." She answered.

"Fine." Snape said, opening the little bottle of Vodka and downing it. The alcohol soothed his nerves, but didn't do much otherwise. The pain still remained and there was nothing he could do about it. These wounds were more than just skin deep. Lord Voldemort had betrayed him, and even though he knew Voldemort loved no one, he had followed the monster and still was betrayed in the process. He remained loyal for so many years, playing both sides, to only be hurt by the one person who considered him is most loyal servant.

Paige sterilized the needle with a bit of rubbing alcohol before putting a piece of thread through the head of the needle. She tied a knot at the end of the thread before placing the needle to his skin. She pushed the needle through his skin, going through to the other side, and then looping it around to stitch it up. Severus groaned in pain and closed his eyes. "Just take a deep breath." She suggested.

Severus did as she recommended, although it did barely anything to stop the pain. Paige continued to stitch up the gash in his leg until the whole thing had been sewn up. Once she finished, she wrapped a bandage around it and threw all the wrappers in the trash from the bandages and other supplies. "I'm done." She stated obviously. Severus did not hear her because he had already fallen asleep from the pain.

Paige had taken this opportunity to wash the blood off of her hands. She walked into the bathroom and cleaned them thoroughly with soap. The normal white soapsuds turned a red color once they were lathered all over her hands, turning red from the blood. She rinsed her hands with water, the water turning a transparent red when it spiraled down the sink and down the drain. After several washes, all of the blood had been cleaned off of her hands.

After Paige finished up in the bathroom, she knew it was time to get something to eat. Her belly had started growling in the process of cleaning up Severus' wounds. It had been way past dinnertime and really dark now, so she grabbed her purse and quietly left the hotel room. Her best bet was some type of fast food that would still be serving food at this time of night.

Fifteen minutes later, Paige turned the doorknob to the apartment. She opened the door to see Severus half naked, trying to put on the clothes she had bought for him. Luckily, he had already put on the shirt and a pair of boxers. When she walked in, Severus was sliding on the black jeans. "Sorry." Paige apologized, her cheeks slightly pink as she placed the bag of food on the table.

Snape pulled up his pants and buttoned them. "It's fine," he stated. "Maybe you should have tried knocking first."

Paige just scoffed and opened up the bag of food. She placed a burger and some fries on one side of the table along with a drink in a Styrofoam cup. The other burger and fries were for her. "Eat up." She said, biting into her burger.

"Is this the best food you could get?" He asked annoyingly.

"Just eat it." She demanded while eating more of her burger.

Severus bit into his burger. It didn't taste anything like Hogwarts food would have tasted, but the burger didn't taste half bad to him. The two of them ate in silence and at one point, Snape looked at her. He was able to watch her eat because she wasn't really paying attention towards his direction. While he looked at her, a feeling came over him. This feeling was guilt, one that he had barely ever felt throughout his life. Along with this guilt, he felt grateful. "Thank you." He said graciously out of nowhere.

Paige looked at him. "Its just food." She stated.

"No. Thank you for helping me. Thank you for bringing me in from outside, cleaning me up, giving me clothes, and even buying me food."

"It's nothing." She said while avoiding his eyes as if being thanked embarrassed her somehow.

"No. It's something," he stated. "Why would you help me? I'm a complete stranger."

Paige looked back up at him, seriously this time. "I'd like to think that someone would help me if I really needed help," she answered. "I would like to think there is always someone out there who is supposed to save each and every one of us at some point or time in our lives."

Severus finished eating and nodded as if he understood. "I hope you know I can't leave here," he confessed. "That means you can't leave here either. It sort of makes you my prisoner."

A grin came across Paige's lips. "I'm hiding too, remember?" she asked. "I'm here on my own free will, so that means I'm not your prisoner."

"I will pay you one day, for everything you have done." He explained.

"No thanks," she replied. "Just save my life someday. That's paying me back enough."

"How do you know I will even meet you again in the future?" He asked.

"I believe we meet everyone for a reason," she answered. "I believe that you ended up on the doorstep of my hotel room for a reason. Everyone comes and goes in our lives for a certain reason. The hardest part is just trying to figure out what that reason is."

Severus pondered her answer for a while. He knew she made a good point because he had met so many people in his life for a reason. Lily opened his heart to love, which protected him from completely turning evil because no love in his life would have left him cold and heartless. Dumbledore took him in as if he were like a son, protecting him from Voldemort and coming up with the plan to play both sides. Now, he had met Paige, the one woman who saved him from an excruciating death. Was this the reason she had come into his life, or was there something more?


	4. Chapter 4: Playing God

The dark eerie gloom cast through the hotel room. Severus laid in the bed, staring up at the ceiling completely awake. His thoughts had drowned out his peaceful state, causing him to be unable to sleep. Severus barely slept throughout the years. Too many thoughts and confusions crept through his mind in the middle of night. First, he would usually think about his childhood and how his father had abandoned his mother and him. Then, there were his years at Hogwarts, which focused around the horrible tortures of the Marauders and then his decent into the world of the Death Eater. He had been consumed by their evil, leading to so many deaths of people he knew. The main death that still plagued his mind, heart, and soul, had always been Lily. She was usually the last thing he thought about, and most of all, the one person he thought about the most. She swarmed through his mind like an endless sea, making him regret everything he had ever said and done to her.

Severus groaned as he stared up at the ceiling. Since he couldn't sleep, he sat up in bed and looked over at Paige who was laying on the ugly brown couch. He felt bad that he took up the bed, but she had insisted on him sleeping in the bed and her sleeping on the couch. Severus was the injured one, so in all common sense, he should be the one sleeping in the bed. He watched her while she slept, her leg dangling off the couch as she laid on her stomach and a blue blanket, which was on top of her, was all wrinkled and disheveled as it barely covered her body anymore.

As Snape watched Paige quietly, the doorknob to the front door stated to shake as if someone were trying to pick the lock. Severus got out of bed, stood up, and walked into the bathroom. He peaked around the corner of the doorway, watching as the doorknob still shook. His eyes darted to Paige who was still asleep on the couch, obviously not hearing the doorknob. Crap. Why didn't he wake her up? His eyes darted back to the doorknob and finally the noise stopped. A click sounded from the knob, and then the door opened a crack.

A tall man in his middle 40's opened the door and stepped inside the room. He had an army haircut and a navy colored t-shirt and pair of jeans on. In one hand, he carried a bottle of whiskey and the man staggered slightly, as if he were drunk. Somehow, the drunken man was able to find the light switch so he turned it on, causing the whole room to be illuminated in a light yellow color. "Baby girl?! I know you're in here!" The man exclaimed.

Paige practically jumped off the sofa as she was startled awake. Her heart raced as one of her fears had come true. He had found her. She looked at the drunken pig in fear. "How did you find me, father?" She asked.

"I was in the Royal Navy. You know I can find anyone." He replied before taking a drink of the whiskey.

Paige started backing away from him, trying to reach the wall behind her. "I think you need to leave."

Her father walked right up to her and slapped her across the face. Paige fell to the ground and held her cheek, staring up at the man in fear. "How dare you walk out on your mother and I like that!? She's worried sick about you!" He shouted in drunken anger.

Severus stepped out of the bathroom and into the main room. "Haven't you ever heard you're not supposed to hit a lady?" He asked rhetorically.

Paige's father turned around and looked at Severus. "Who the hell are you? Some older man banging my daughter?" He asked rudely.

"She's not your daughter," retorted Severus. "It takes more than a drunken fool to raise a daughter.

"How dare you!" Her father exclaimed in anger. He stormed over to Severus and was about to hit him, but Severus reached into his back jeans pocket and gripped his wand. "If you take one step closer, you'll embarrass yourself." Severus warned.

Paige's father stepped closer as if he found it a challenge. Severus pulled out his wand, pointed it at the man, and shouted, "Episkey!" The flash of red light hit her father in the chest and caused him to fall backwards. Her father laid on the floor looking dazed and catatonic.

Severus ran over to Paige and pulled her off of the ground. "Are you alright?" He asked sincerely for once in his life.

"Yes." She replied, looking stunned by everything she had just witnessed.

"We need to get out of here," explained Severus. "I used magic so they can track it." He grabbed Paige by the arm and used his wand to apparate them to someplace he figured they would be safe.

Eventually the two arrived in a location that was unknown to Paige. She fell to her knees and breathed heavily as the sickening feeling took her over. She appeared as if she were going to throw up. "What…was…..that?" She asked between breaths.

"We apparated," he replied. "Wizards and witches use it to travel. Everyone feels sick the first few times they apparate."

Paige started to breathe normal after a few minutes. She looked around the place to see marble walls and some really nice furniture, which looked antique because it was worn out and old. "Where are we?" She asked.

"Malfoy Manor," he replied. "They are some people I know."

Just then, two blonde-haired people, one male and one female, came running into the hallway with their bathrobes on since it was night. They saw Severus and the mysterious woman in the hallway, causing both to seem confused and curious at the same time. Lucius face turned to anger and confusion. "What is the meaning of all this? Everyone thinks you're dead!" He exclaimed in anger.

"Do I look dead to you?" Snape retorted.

"Why did you come here? Don't you know the Ministry can track your spells? And who is this woman?" Lucius asked a series of questions very rapidly.

"I came here to receive your help," answered Severus. "The Ministry can only track where I did the spell, not where I went. You should know that, Lucius. As for the woman, you don't need to be concerned."

"If you apparated here, then she must be a muggle." Lucius assumed.

"Yes."

"How dare you bring a filthy muggle into my home! I most definitely won't help you now!" Lucius shouted in white-hot anger. He was always known for hating muggles, half bloods, and especially mudbloods.

"Stop calling me that word!" Paige exclaimed. "I'm right here, you know. I can hear what you're saying."

Lucius glared at Paige because a muggle had spoke to him. He wanted to say something, but Severus spoke first. "May I remind you who made the Unbreakable Vow with your wife. I helped protect your son by killing Dumbledore."

Lucius gritted his teeth while Narcissa helped Paige off of the ground. "It's alright. We will set you two up in a room." Narcissa explained, leading Paige to a spare room in the house.

The owner of the Manor paced back and forth. He was deep in thought before he stopped and looked at Severus. "I should kill you for your insolence. As for the woman, she should be killed. She's nothing more than a lose end and an inconvenience."

Severus glared at Lucius. "You will keep your hands off that woman. She's responsible for me still being alive," he explained. "Just because we know the Killing Curse, the curse that takes away lives, doesn't give us the right to play God. We do not choose who lives and dies. It was never our right and that is where Voldemort failed. He thought he could play and be God."

An eyebrow raised on Lucius face. "Since when have you become so religious?" He asked.

"I haven't. I just believe there is a higher being out there that controls all fate. It doesn't even have to be God, for all I'm concerned. I'd like to believe everything happens for a reason and that only one person or being knows what that reason is."

Lucius thought for a moment and then nodded. "Very well. You are in complete control of this girl while she is here," he explained. "But I warn you, if she even puts one finger out of place, I'll break it." Lucius stormed off, his bathrobe billowing behind him as he headed back to his bedroom.

Severus knew the Malfoys were always conceited. They thought they were the best and he knew otherwise. He knew they were far from perfect since they had displayed it on many occasions. First, they had made the mistake of trusting and following Lord Voldemort. Lucius had ended up in Azkaban while Draco was supposed to kill Dumbledore. Once Lucius escaped, he offered the Manor to Voldemort, and yet he was nothing more then a slave. Draco had failed to kill Dumbledore and their whole family had almost been destroyed. Yes, this family was far from perfect, but Snape had been friends with them all the same. In the end, Voldemort had betrayed both Severus and the Malfoys.

Severus walked down the hallway where Narcissa had gone with Paige. He passed various paintings of old Malfoy family members, some ugly and old, while others were beautiful and young. The hallway was too dark to see anything else since it had still been nighttime. After Severus found the room, he entered it and overheard Narcissa talking to Paige. "There might be some old clothes you can wear in the closet." She stated.

"Thank you." Severus said graciously.

Narcissa turned around and nodded at him before leaving the room. Severus sat on the bed next to Paige. He wondered what she would think now that he had used magic in front of her. His world was completely unknown to her, nothing more than a mysterious dream of fantasy. Very few muggles ever learned about their world. The Prime Minister of England, muggle parents who gave birth to a magical child, siblings of these children, spouses who married a wizard and weren't magical, were only the few groups of people who knew about their world. Even to these people, the wizarding world seemed like an overwhelming place sometimes.

"Did I scare you?" Severus asked.

"A little, but I'll be fine." She replied. "Thank you for that back there in the hotel."

"So your father is the one that hurt you?" He asked curiously.

"Yes."

Severus pulled Paige's face gingerly towards him with his hand. He looked at her cheek and noticed it was redder than usual. "It might bruise," he stated. "Men should never hit women like that. As far as I'm concerned, he's not your father. It takes more than common DNA to be a father."

Snape let her go and then laid back on the bed. "We should get some sleep. It's pretty late." He explained.

Paige laid back on the bed as well. They laid there quietly, each keeping to their own side. However, neither of them had their eyes closed. They laid there wide-awake, thinking about the events that had happened recently. Severus had met this woman who saved him, and in return, he had saved her from her father. He could be dead if it weren't for her, but she could be dead if it weren't for him. The two seemed to have met for a reason and some of these reasons were starting to become clear. Maybe two people really can meet each other and save each other's lives, no matter how corrupt or flawed they may be. Then again, maybe they could completely ruin each other's lives, but on the other hand, both knew that everything happens for a reason, even if figuring out that reason is the hardest part of all.


	5. Chapter 5: One Brief Moment of Freedom

Severus managed to sleep for a couple of hours. When he woke up, Paige remained sleeping so he did not disturb her. He knew he had some issues he had to settle with Lucius so he left the bed. He left the room and entered the main hallway, heading towards the library since Lucius sat in there half of the time. Lucius had business to contend to so he would remain in the library, even if his business didn't include money issues but matters of evil or pureblood righteousness.

Snape knocked on the door to the library before opening the door a crack. He saw Lucius at a brown desk, reading some old book. Lucius looked up from the book as he heard the knock and saw Severus. "Have a seat." Lucius demanded as he closed his book and gave Severus his full attention.

Severus sat down quietly in one of the leather armchairs. He had been in this library a few times; many of these instances back during the Death Eater meetings. He remembered how the walls looked like they were actually made of books lined up next to each other on various shelves. He never asked where all the books came from or what they pertained to, but he knew some of them weren't good. Lucius had always been obsessed with pureblood life and extinguishing the lesser beings, which made Paige staying at the Manor quite an issue for Severus.

Lucius decided he would start the conversation like the righteous bastard he was, thinking he owned half of the world because of his pureblood heritage. "As I've mentioned earlier, you have some nerve bringing a muggle into my home." Lucius stated, believing his blood was better than most people, including muggles.

"I assure you, we will not be a problem," explained Severus. "She helped save my life and so I am helping her by doing the same. She may be a muggle, but she's also a very brave muggle, one who has earned my respect for her actions and words."

"I'm not too concerned about her. I think it's just disgusting to have a muggle in my home," explained Lucius with his arrogant attitude. "What bothers me more is that you would come here after the whole wizarding world thinks you are dead. Then, you have the nerve to use the fact that you protected Draco against this family to receive help. I do not appreciate being blackmailed, Severus."

"It's only blackmail if you agree to it, Lucius." Severus stated in his monotone voice, but with a flicker of threat in it. "And I did protect your son. He was supposed to kill Dumbledore and failed. I made the Unbreakable Vow with your wife. I'm sure you know the story, but for some people, it's not simple to kill. Maybe for you it is."

Lucius' eyes flickered with anger. "It is never simple to kill, even if you're a Death Eater. I'm sure you are aware of this conflict since you have killed Dumbledore." He stated, trying to make Severus sound like a bad guy for killing the old Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"I did what was necessary for everyone," explained Severus. "You will never understand and I would never expect you to. The matter of the fact is, you couldn't even protect your own son. You needed my help for that, so don't you dare bring your righteous pureblood heritage and arrogant comments to this conversation."

Lucius cheeks turned red with anger. "How dare you speak to me like this in my own home!" He exclaimed, even though Severus had every right to say those things. "I don't have to help you, especially some stupid muggle slut who's already wormed her way into your life!"

Snape started to lose his temper by every second that Lucius opened his stupid mouth. "You take it back," he demanded with a bit of warning in his voice. "Blood is not the most important thing in this world. She never did anything to you or to me to make her worthy of being deemed a slut. She would actually have to come on to you for that, and with the attitude you have, I'm sure that would never happen. Also, keep in mind that I have killed before. It wouldn't take much effort to kill you and if you keep up your attitude, I might take pleasure in it."

Lucius bit his tongue, as he wanted to lash out at Severus, saying more words of hurt and stupidity. The problem was, he knew Severus had a point. He had never been afraid of Severus, but he didn't want to look for conflict either. Things had been in upheaval after the Second War, and the last thing someone need to do, was go looking for more trouble. Lucius just wanted to keep things at peace instead of trying to disturb the peace so many people were trying to restore after the war.

"You can stay here, but if you cause any trouble, I'll kick you out." Lucius threatened.

"Understood." Severus said even though he could care less what Lucius had to say. He knew most Malfoys were always the same, trying to preach pureblood heritage and nothing else. It was all about blood for them, but in reality, Severus knew blood didn't make a family or anyone better. Blood could just give you certain benefits like better privileges or more money, but it didn't mean they were better. It just meant they were luckier in some aspects. In other aspects, they weren't luckier because people with more privileges and more money sometimes became corrupted, evidently shown with the Malfoy family.

While Severus had been having his heated discussion with Lucius, Paige opened her eyes. She looked around the room incoherently, the way some people do when they first wake up and can't remember where they are. After a few seconds, memories from yesterday flooded back into her mind, remembering how her father had come into the hotel room in a drunken manner. Severus had brought her to this weird Manor, another place where they called her muggle; a word she grew to dislike.

Paige removed herself from the bed and decided she would take a shower to remove all the thoughts from her mind as if they were dirt clinging to her very own skin. She walked into the bathroom, which connected to their bedroom. She closed the door and reached into the tub to turn on the water and let the water heat up a bit. Her clothes dropped to the floor as she stripped them off. After she was completely undressed, she stepped inside the bath and turned on the shower.

The hot water rinsed her body clean of any dirt or grime that might have collected on her skin during the past day. The heat soothed her nerves as she thought about her life. She had managed to live with her drunken father for years. He would hit her and leave bruises or breaks, things that could heal over time. The emotional pain he inflicted upon her, would never heal. It left invisible slashes inside of her mind, ones that were too painful to ever get rid of. He was supposed to be her father, but instead, he had turned into a man of hatred, one who took his problems out on his daughter.

Paige slammed her palm against the tile wall of the bath and started crying. She let the tears consume her. They were well earned tears after everything she had been through in her life. Because of her father, no one understood her pain. She had virtually been alone in life with no friends or other family to turn to. Even the family she did have wouldn't do anything because they adored her father so. If only they could have seen the man he had become. If only they could have seen the way he treated her.

The tears managed to stop flowing after several minutes. Paige finished her shower and stepped out of the bath like it had never happened. She wanted to forget her past and just move on, no matter how difficult it would be. She grabbed a towel from the rack by the sink and dried off her delicate body. A silk robe hung on a hanger on the door. She grabbed it and covered her body with it like a shield once she had finished drying off her body.

Paige entered the main room again. Just as she did, a younger blonde-haired boy entered the room. He carried a stack of folded clothes and set them down on the bed. "My mother told me to bring you these clothes." He said, his eyes on Paige like a vulture ready to swoop down and snatch his prey.

"Thanks." Paige uttered, not paying much attention to Draco Malfoy, but his attention was focused on her. He crept closer to her, as if sneaking up on a prey silently. His curiosity overwhelmed him, as he never saw a muggle before. "So this is what a muggle looks like?" He asked with eyes that could pierce through her like an x-ray machine. He wanted to see all of her, every fragment of her being. He wanted to see the parts that not even she could see as if he were studying her for an experiment.

Paige rolled her eyes and made a sound of disgust. "You people really need to stop calling me a muggle," she explained. "It's annoying and I don't like being called words that aren't really in my vocabulary."

Draco crept closer to her, forcing her up against the wall. It didn't help that the silk robe from the bathroom clung to her body, showing every curve since she had been slightly wet from taking a shower. It just added to Draco's curiosity since he had was still a hormonal time bomb willing to explore the female side of life for an ego boost amongst his friends. He pulled out his wand and pushed it under her chin as Paige was pressed up against the wall. "You shouldn't talk to me like that. Very few purebloods even associate with muggles." Draco threatened with an almost seductive tone in his voice.

As Paige was pressed up against the wall, fearing for her life, Severus Snape walked back into the room. He grabbed Draco by the back of his clothes and dragged him towards the door. Draco landed out in the hallway with a thud as Severus had thrown him out there. "You stay away from her," he demanded. "The next time you're thrown out, it will be out the window." Severus slammed the door shut and turned to Paige.

"Are you alright?" He asked, stepping closer to her.

"Yes." She replied simply.

"I should have never left you alone." He explained with a ping of guilt in his voice. "Then again, wearing a robe like that doesn't help your situation any."

"It's not like I had anything to wear until that stupid git brought me some clothes," she explained. "We left everything behind in the hotel."

Severus stepped closer to Paige, pressing her up against the wall like Draco had, but not as if she was prey. He placed his hand on her cheek and looked her up and down, taking in the whole sight of her in the robe. "So damaged and abused," he stated. "You deserve to be touched by a real man." He slowly undid the tie on her robe, letting it open up but still cover the major parts of her body. He moved his hand from her cheek and ran it down her body, starting with the neck and ending at her waist.

Paige trembled slightly at his touch and looked at him. It felt good to be touched by someone who wasn't doing it to cause her pain.

"Are you afraid of me?" Severus asked while looking into her eyes.

"No." Paige uttered from her lips quietly.

"What if I told you I have killed people?" He asked while running his hand down her neck like she was a goddess.

"I don't care," she replied. "We have all done things we are not proud of."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "You should care." He stated before brushing his lips against hers ever so gently.

Paige kissed him back so hard, like she had wanted someone to treat her the way she had deserved. She shoved Severus towards the bed as they kissed, causing him to fall backwards. She laid on top of him with her robe open, but still hanging on her delicate body. She kissed his lips again, even harder this time, but Severus grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her upwards and way from his lips. "We shouldn't be doing this." He stated as if it were a bad idea. "You're young and impressionable."

"I'm a big girl. I know exactly what I'm doing." She replied before kissing him again to shut him up.

Severus hands slid underneath her robe and forced the robe entirely off of her body. It fell off to the side as the two of them continued to kiss with heated passion. Her hands ran underneath Severus shirt and caressed his skin gently, the same skin which had become so fragile over the years. She was the first woman to touch it in many years for a sexual purpose. A moan escaped into her lips as he kissed her and ran his hands up and down her body.

Paige practically ripped his shirt from off of him and then started undoing his pants. She didn't have to put much effort into it as he allowed her to slide them off with such ease. After a little undressing and a little bit of effort, the two of them laid naked together in each other's arms. Severus grabbed Paige gently and flipped the two of them so he was on top.

With one easy move, their bodies connected as one. For once in a very long time, Severus let himself belong to someone else. He left go of everything hurtful and bad in the world, and gave himself to someone who had experienced the same hurt and pain. Most of all, for once he had let go of Lily, the one woman he always thought about. This one moment in life, Severus had thought about himself and what he wanted and not about Lily. For a moment, he was free.


	6. Chapter 6: You Can Run but

After Severus brief moment of freedom, he laid in bed with Paige. Their bodies laid underneath the sheets, concealing their nakedness. Their lives had been so horrible; there were more things to hide then their naked bodies. The sheets were a way to cover everything they didn't want to remember. Those sheets held them back from the world and the reality they had to live in. So many times in life, the two of them just wanted to escape and live in a world where no one could hurt them.

The two of them breathed rather heavily, trying to catch their breath as sweat clung to their bodies. Paige's head laid on Severus chest as they tried to calm down their heaving hearts. He ran his hand over her hair gently and kissed her forehead. "Are you alright?" He asked sincerely for once in his life. Then again, very few people had ever treated him decently in life. The least he could do was treat those few people back with the same decency.

"Blissfully calm," she replied. "You?"

A smirk came over Severus lips. "The same."

Paige pressed her hand on Severus chest and forced herself up gently. She looked at him, her messy hair falling down around her shoulders. "Have you had many women?" She asked rather bluntly.

Severus didn't look at her as he replied. "No."

Paige kept looking at him as if she were waiting for an exact count. He looked in her in the eyes. "Two," he finally stated. "Three including you in what seems like a very long life." His response almost had sadness to it. He knew Lily was never one of those three people, but that remained his fault and there was nothing he could do about it. He had let go of Lily for one brief moment in his life, but as that moment was over, she came rushing back to him just as quickly.

Paige laid back down on his chest quietly. "There was only one person before you."

"That's it?" He questioned. "You made me believe otherwise with some of the things you just did."

A slight chuckle escaped Paige's lips. "Was that your attempt at a compliment?" She questioned. "I didn't know you knew how to give one of those."

Severus wanted to reply, but the door burst open. Harry Potter and a couple of Aurors from the Ministry entered the room as Severus and Paige pulled the sheets over themselves. "I've been looking for you," stated Harry. "You're a hard man to find."

"And just how did you find me?" Snape asked curiously.

"Lucius turned you in." Harry replied.

"Hmm. I should have known." Severus stated as if he wasn't surprised by Lucius' betrayal.

"I suggest you get dressed," Harry said. He couldn't help but feel slightly shocked to see a woman in bed with Severus. He turned to Paige and looked at her. "You too."

"Leave her out of this," demanded Severus. "She has nothing to do with this.

Harry gave Severus a look of sincerity, but with a glimpse of confusion. "Yes, she does. You brought her into this. I'm afraid that she has to come as well." Harry explained.

"She's a muggle." Severus confessed with a glimmer of fear in his eyes. This was an emotion Severus rarely showed in life. He had been scared very few times: once maybe twice in a very long lifetime. Once, when he realized he had probably lost Lily because of his own stupidity, and the second when he knew Lord Voldemort was going to attack the Potters. He knew he would have lost her for good then.

A look of surprise came over Harry's face. He didn't know Severus would ever associate with a muggle. "She still has to come. She's been exposed to our world," he explained. "I assure you that she will not be harmed. We will wait out in the hallway while you two get dressed, but don't even think about trying to escape. The only way possible is for you to use magic, and we can track that." With this said, Harry and the two Aurors went out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

Severus turned to Paige and looked at her face, not sure if she was confused, scared, shocked, or just plain mixed about everything. "Are you alright?" He asked for the second time today.

"Fine," she replied. "Just tired of being called a muggle. I've heard that word enough for the past few days." Paige climbed out of the bed and grabbed some of the clothes that Draco had brought to her. She slid on the usual garments, a pair of plain jeans, and a silk green top that tied at one side. "Hmm. Someone actually has some good taste."

"It fits you well." Severus complimented. He slid on his pair of black jeans and black t-shirt that Paige had given him back at the hotel. He didn't have anything else to wear. At this point, he was really starting to miss his usual black robes. They were his signature clothing, and somehow, when that cloak billowed behind him when entering the classroom, it gave him power because it scared the students. The black clothes and cloak were a part of him, and now he had been degraded to a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"What are they going to do with me?" Paige asked, a look of concern appearing finally.

"I'm not sure," replied Severus. "They won't harm you though. They can't. If anything, they might ask you some questions and want to know how much you've learned about the wizarding world since you've been in my presence."

"What if I never see you again?" Paige asked out of the blue.

Severus had not been expecting this question. As far as he was concerned, he figured she would want to be on her merry way once everything was over. He was nothing more than a bother to her: a complete nuisance since she had to take care of him. If anything, Severus owed her his life. He needed to protect her because she had protected him. Yes, he had saved her from her father, but she had brought him back from being near death. That meant more than saving her from her father. She could have probably done that on her own since she had escaped to the hotel anyways. The truth was Severus had never owed someone so much before.

"I won't allow that to happen." He explained with a stern look on his face.

A knock came from the door before it opened up a crack. "Are you dressed?" Came the voice of Harry. Under no circumstances did he want to see his former Professor exposed.

"Yes," replied Severus. "We're ready."

Harry opened up the door and looked at the both of them. "We will travel by Floo Powder to inside the Ministry," he explained. "We have some questions for you both."

Severus glanced over at Paige, giving her that I-told-you-so look about the questions. Harry and the two Aurors, ones that Severus did not recognize, started walking towards the fireplace in Malfoy Manor. Then, the Aurors moved so that everyone was in a single file line: Harry in the front, then Severus, an Auror, Paige, and then the other Auror. This pattern acted as a failsafe. It kept the two people in question, Severus and Paige, between two people at all time.

"This fireplace is big enough for two to three people," explained Harry. "So this is how it will work. Myself, Severus, and Dobbs will go first, and then Paige and Gueverra will follow behind." Harry came up with this plan because he knew Paige couldn't use magic. She only needed one person to make sure she wouldn't try anything, where Harry knew Severus could try to escape so he allowed for himself and one Auror to watch over him.

One of the Aurors, who happened to be Dobbs, nodded first. He stood taller than everyone except the other Auror, Gueverra. Both were rather tall and muscular and looked like something the army would definitely accept as muscle. Both had brown hair, one darker while the other lighter. The one had longer hair, which was held back in a ponytail. He could definitely pull off working as a bouncer in a nightclub, while the other had standard military hair, making him look like he belonged in camouflage while carrying a gun. Both of these Aurors had been in their job for a while, and appeared as if they had been bread their whole life to be an Auror. Some witches and wizards were bread to be an Auror, while others were given natural talent like Harry Potter.

Harry, Severus, and Dobbs all stepped into the fireplace. Harry grabbed a bit of Floo Powder before he had stepped in. He shouted, "Ministry of Magic!" and threw down the powder, causing the three of them to be engorged in green flames. The three disappeared from the sight of Paige and Gueverra. All three men stepped out of the fireplace and into the Ministry of Magic. There were a few wizards hustling and bustling around, but nothing like it used to be. The wizarding world truly had been divided during the Second War, and the pieces were still trying to be put together.

Severus glanced around at the place, not being able to quite help himself. He felt as if he were partly responsible, sitting behind his desk at Hogwarts, taking the role of Headmaster just to please Voldemort. Dumbledore had died, and yet, he had still played both sides. He had to in order to stay alive, but at the same time, it almost had become pointless. He had turned his back on the wizarding world, protecting his own life instead of trying to fight for what he had once believed in. "Where is everyone?" He asked through the almost deafening silence.

"Many wizards left during the war," answered Harry. "A lot of them didn't come back and just left their positions. Others died so it's just a matter of trying to put everything back together and find people to fill in the positions. On top of that, the Ministry really needs to be reformatted, having more power in certain places than others."

After noticing the Ministry's quietness, Paige and Gueverra finally came through the fireplace. Paige looked a bit dizzy, as she had never traveled by Floo Network before. Most of the wizarding world had been a learning experience for her, and a world of new beginnings, because an abusive father had corrupted the world she came from. She may have been a muggle, but she wondered if she could ever fit into this world of mysterious and weird magic.

"You people sure have some weird ways of traveling." She admitted.

Harry turned to look at her. "It takes time to get used to it," he explained. "Anyways, we have to get to the Auror department."

Harry started to walk towards the elevators while everyone else followed him. He stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the Auror department. He remembered when Moody had been in charge of the Auror department, and now he had been recruited to help bring peace to the wizarding world. He had more experience than others, killing Lord Voldemort and escaping him in previous attacks, so they had asked him to help make things better.

After everyone had entered the elevator, it started to move backwards, downwards, to the side, and then downward again. After a couple of minutes, the elevator came to a stop at the Auror department. The door opened and let all five of them out. As they exited the elevator, they stepped on various crumpled up papers, ones that were once interoffice memos. "For people who can do magic, you sure don't know how to clean the place." Paige stated rather bluntly and rudely.

Severus couldn't help but grin slightly. He knew she was acting this way as a defense mechanism for taking them out of Malfoy Manor.

"Aurors have been rather busy trying to capture Death Eaters and others who have been causing havoc. They haven't had much time to worry about cleaning." Harry explained, walking down a hallway with two separate rooms.

These two rooms appeared gray, dark, and damp. They were rooms used for questioning and interrogations. Across from the rooms were two cells, ones where they kept people who were criminals or captives. "I'll question Severus," explained Harry. "Dobbs and Gueverra, watch over Paige in the other room. We can talk to her later."

Paige gave Severus a disconcerting look as she was dragged into the room with dull gray paint on the walls. Only a couple of metal chairs and a metal table sat in the metal room, obviously used for questioning. Harry and Severus went into the other room, which looked exactly the same. A fluorescent light glowed from up above, making the rooms appear even more boring, dull, and gray. There was no life in this room and no happiness usually came out of it. "Don't worry," Harry said. "They won't harm Paige, but I am going to ask you some questions, and I do expect you to answer them truthfully."

For once in life, Severus was the one being interrogated. He had usually been the one asking questions and being given answers. If he weren't given the answers, he would pour Veritaserum down their throat and force it out of them. This time, he knew he had to answer the questions and not play dumb. His life could depend on telling the truth. More importantly, Paige's life could depend on his ability to tell the truth. As Severus pondered his upcoming fate, he sat there, waiting to receive the various questions that Harry Potter would ask him, the one boy who already knew so much from viewing his memories.


	7. Chapter 7: You Can't Hide

Severus sat in the cold hard chair of the interrogation room. Never before had he ever felt like a prisoner in his life, except for maybe once, but it was nothing more than a reoccurring thought in his mind. Sometimes he felt like a prisoner when it came to his feelings for Lily. He had tried so many times to forget her, to just move on and throw it all away like he could easily cast her aside. No matter how hard he tried, it could never be done. He just didn't have the willpower to forget Lily. He had become a prisoner of Lily Evans memory a long time ago.

"Just what do you expect to learn from this little interrogation, Potter?" Severus asked, calling Harry by that name that used to once intimidate his former student.

"I want a few answers," replied Harry. "Things that are not yet clear to me."

"Fine. Ask away."

"You killed Dumbledore," Harry stated. "Why didn't you tell people that he told you to kill him when the time was right?"

"Imagine how absurd that would sound to the public," answered Severus. "They would never believe me, especially being known as a Death Eater turned good in the First War. They could have just assumed that I decided to revolt against Dumbledore after all these years. There is no point in taking a life and then condemning your own in the process."

"But you did condemn your own live. You killed him and will have to live the rest of your life with that on your conscious." Harry explained, feeling like he still had a guilty conscious for some of the lives that died in the Second War.

"I never would have killed him if he hadn't told me to. Dumbledore was the only person who ever cared about me. He only would have had less than a year to live and I'm not sure what's worse; letting him suffer and stand by and watch it, or to kill him when the time is right and put him out of his misery. Could you have honestly stood by and watched the one man that you witnessed do so many heroic things in one lifetime, slowly fall apart and wither into nothing?" Severus asked with a bit of sadness in his voice for the one man who had actually treated him decently.

"I guess not," replied Harry quietly as he found this subject still painful. "That still doesn't explain why you helped me all of these years."

Severus knew the real answer to that question. It should have been obvious after the memories he let Harry see. "I assumed that was quite obvious by now." He replied, glancing away for a slight moment because of the painful memories, which kept returning to him.

"My mother," answered Harry. "But you didn't have to help me. It must have been pretty painful for you, looking into my eyes and seeing hers."

Severus did not reply and did not look into Harry's eyes. Those were the eyes that had haunted him so many times, and yet, here they were again. He hated how a pair of eyes could have so much power over him and how they could bring back so many painful memories he did not want to remember. There were several times when Severus thought he would go crazy because he could never get rid of those eyes. They were like his disease that would not go away; a constant plague upon his mind.

Harry could tell Severus did not like this subject. "Anyways, we're not really here to persecute you. We're here to ask for your help." Harry explained.

Severus glanced back up at Harry, avoiding those eyes with a direct gaze at all costs. "What kind of help?" He asked curiously, wondering what Potter could possibly want from him.

"The Auror Department could use you," answered Harry. "You know Death Eaters and could help capture them. You could help make the wizarding world a better place again."

"And just what would I get out of this?" Severus asked, wondering if there was some catch to this situation.

"It would help clear your name. We could simply state that you left Hogwarts after the Second War to hide from Death Eaters since you planned on turning them in. It would clear up the whole running away scenario. You would also be given a salary if that helps."

"I was going to accept before the details," replied Severus. "I have nothing to lose."

"What about the girl?" Harry asked.

Severus never considered Paige as something he could lose. Now that he thought about it, she definitely was something he could lose. She had been so nice to him; taking care of him and helping him get back to an almost normal state of health. He had brought her into the wizarding world and it was his fault if something happened to her because of it. He didn't want to lose her, not like how he lost Lily. He didn't want to let another woman go from his life, unless it was her own choice to leave. Even then, he might feel like he had to convince her to stay if she wanted to go.

"Yes," he replied. "What are you going to do with her?"

"That depends on how much she knows."

"She knows about a few things. She knows that we can do magic with wands, have special potions for things, and that we can travel by different means of transportation like the Floo Network and apparating." Severus explained in a detailed list.

"Well, she has two options really," mentioned Harry, trying to be a nice guy about things and give Severus the benefit of the doubt for once. He had rarely ever seen Severus with someone so he wasn't about to take that away from him, especially after what happened with Severus and Lily. "She could be left in your custody or she can have her memory wiped of the things she's learned recently."

Severus nodded and sat there quietly. If they removed her knowledge of the wizarding world and magic, she would also forget the things she had done within the past few days. It meant she would forget Severus and everything they had done together. She would have never found him, helped him, been saved by him, or even have slept with him. It just wouldn't exist in her mind or be nothing more than a vague dream to her. Severus didn't want this to happen to her and he especially didn't want it to happen to him.

"That decision is up to her," replied Severus with a ping of fear in his voice. "I already have an answer, but it's not my decision to make."

"Very well," said Harry. "I never planned on questioning her to begin with. I'll let you be the one to talk to her." Harry sat up from the cold metal chair that he sat in. He walked over to the door, opened it, and stepped over to the room next door, which had been just like the one he was just in. He knocked on the door with a type of signal. He knocked twice, paused, and then knocked once more. It was a way of to communicate and let the other Auror know they were not the bad guys trying to get into the room.

One of the two Aurors, Dobbs, answered the door. "What is it?" He asked in a deep voice.

"I need you and Gueverra to step outside of the room," explained Harry. "I'm letting Severus speak to the girl alone."

"Yes, sir," said Dobbs in a military response. Gueverra and him left the room quietly, leaving Paige inside by herself. This showed just how much power Harry really had inside the Auror Department. These two men who were bigger than him, could easily take him down with the blink of an eye by just using their muscle, but they followed his orders because Harry was the one in power.

Harry went back to Severus and told him he could go into the room. It didn't matter if Severus had his wand with him. He couldn't try anything because there was no apparating allowed inside of the Ministry. The only way of traveling into or out of the Ministry was through the Floo Network or the main entrances. Severus could easily attack them with spells, but it was no use having three against one. Plus, he didn't want to risk Paige getting hurt, and he didn't want to fight.

Severus stood up from the chair, walked over to the room exactly like his, and stepped inside. Once he had entered the room, Harry closed the door and locked him inside. Severus looked at Paige as she just sat there quietly in the chair. She appeared to be unharmed and still looked the same as when they were at Malfoy Manor. He walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her. "Are you alright?" He asked with sincerity in his voice as if he actually cared about her.

"Yes, but I didn't even get my phone call." She joked sarcastically.

Severus gave her a slight grin. "I see they have not damaged your spirit." He teased slightly. "Should I offer to let you take them out? I'm sure you could do it without magic because of that attitude."

"Haha. Very funny," replied Paige. "So what do they want with me?"

"They have given you two options. You can either stay with me or have your memory erased so that you won't remember anything from the past few days." Severus explained. He looked down for a moment as he mentioned the second option. He didn't want her to have her memory erased, but he couldn't stop her if she wanted to.

"Why the hell would I want my memory erased?" She asked with irritation in her voice. "I don't want to go back to that life where I have to run away from people who might try to hurt me."

"So you want to stay with me then?" Severus asked to make sure that was her answer and to reassure himself.

"Yes," she replied. "Unless I'm too much of a hassle for you."

Severus grinned before taking her face in his hands and kissing her on the lips gently. "It's the hassle that I like." He grinned.

Severus walked over to the door and knocked on it. Harry opened the door and looked at Severus. "So what is the answer?" Harry asked as if he needed it right away.

"She wants to stay with me." Severus replied, trying to hold back a grin in front of Harry. He loved the decision that Paige had made. He didn't know if he loved her, but he definitely cared about her. He had enough time to get to know her since she would be staying with him. He could possibly grow to the point of loving her.

"Very well," stated Harry. "We will give you a week to get settled back in and start to adjust to things at your home. After that, I will come for you and tell you what your first assignment is. Understood?"

"Yes." Severus answered, feeling like he had become the student all of a sudden. He didn't mind taking orders from Harry. He knew Harry would probably receive this position with everything he had done throughout the years. Severus wanted to help make the wizarding world a better place so he didn't care who ordered him around. He had been the man to once order people around, and even though he had been told what to do now, he would probably be telling people what to do once again. Severus had a feeling he would be given a pretty high position inside the Auror Department. He remained a valuable asset, and he knew the Ministry wasn't going to let someone like him get away. They would simply make it worth his wild, or make him an offer he couldn't refuse, which is what they had done.

Severus turned back to Paige. "Come on." He demanded.

Paige stood up from her chair and walked over to Severus. The two of them started to leave the room with ease, not being stopped by Harry, Dobbs, or Gueverra. He kept walking until Harry opened his mouth.

"Don't think we won't be watching you," stated Harry, trying to sound threatening but not doing a very good job of it. "Don't try to run away."

Severus glanced back at Harry for a slight moment. "I wouldn't dream of it." He smirked before continuing to walk off with Paige.

Severus led Paige back to the way they had come into the Ministry. They had to take the elevator once again. This time it moved in different directions to take them back to the main floor. It moved up, backwards, forwards, and then up again. Eventually they arrived on the main floor where everything appeared to be in a dark marble color. The fountain, which used to squirt water like some type of beautiful waterfall, had been damaged with pieces of rubble lying around it. The water no longer spewed almost like it symbolized how the Ministry had fallen during the Second War.

"So what did you have to agree to for them to let you go?" Paige asked as they walked towards one of the Floo Network fireplaces.

"A job." Severus replied.

"What kind of job?" Paige asked curiously.

"The kind someone might not come back from alive." Severus answered as if the answer didn't scare him at all.

On the other hand, the answer appeared to make Paige feel slightly distressed. She stepped into the fireplace with Severus, having that look of being scared on her face. Severus put one of his arms around her to hold onto her. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright," he replied. Severus threw down the Floo Powder, which was in his other hand. "Spinner's End!" He shouted, letting the green flames engulf them and take him to his home, which he had longed to see since he had left the Second War. After all, there's no place like home.


	8. Chapter 8: Always Second Place

Severus and Paige arrived at Spinner's End after the green flames started to no longer surround them. Paige felt slightly dizzy from traveling by the Floo Network, but at least it wasn't as bad as the first time she had traveled in such a way. Paige opened her eyes when she felt her feet flat on the floor. She coughed slightly as dust surrounded her. She glanced at the soot, which laid in a thick layer all around the fireplace they had just entered. The soot was so thick that obviously it had not been cleaned for months or possibly even years.

The two stepped out of the fireplace and Paige continued to look around at her new surroundings. The place was very cozy, enough for a few people to live in, but not new and it appeared to be untouched for a long time. The entire house was dim because dust covered all of the windows. Paige realized Severus must like it really dark and gloomy to live in a place where it was so dark.

Paige looked at the rest of the main room, seeing a couple of couches, an armchair, table, and a bunch of books laying in different areas of the room. Apparently, Severus enjoyed reading quite a bit. Paige entered the kitchen, which was right next to the living room. Some copper pans hung over an island in the middle of the kitchen. Dust had collected on them and the pans were tarnished, like they hadn't been used in a very long time.

"My room is upstairs." Severus explained as if that really made a difference.

Paige walked over to the staircase and stepped up them. There were more shelves of books on the landing of the second floor. There was only one hallway on the second floor and three doors. These doors led to two bedrooms and one bathroom. Paige entered the one room to find just a quaint little bed, nightstand, dresser, and a lamp on the nightstand. She figured this was Severus' room since he didn't need much.

"You could stay in the guest room if you like, or in my room. It's entirely up to you." Severus mentioned as he had followed her.

"It's not like we haven't slept in the same bed before." She smirked before going back downstairs.

Severus grinned slightly and followed her. "I don't stay here often. I was mainly at Hogwarts so the place has been neglected. I need to clean it up, which I can do easily with my wand."

"Let me clean it the muggle way. I don't have much of anything else to do while staying here so I might as well clean. It will give me something to do." She offered.

"If you like. There is always something special about accomplishing something that you've done with your hands. It makes it worth while, like you've earned the finished result." He explained before sitting down on the leather sofa in the living room. It was a little dusty but he didn't mind.

"I understand what you mean. It's like when a carpenter builds something with his hands. He takes pride in the finished result because he had to work the wood to make it that way." She said before sitting down next to him.

Severus put his arm around her and sat with her. "Make yourself at home."

A week later, Severus returned to the Ministry to start his new job as an Auror. He went to the usual department and found Harry for the details. This time he wasn't in a containment room. This time he had an actual desk with a nameplate sitting on the front of it. He sat in the revolving chair and felt weird, as if he didn't belong doing this job. He knew he could be of great help, but he didn't know he would feel so out of place.

Harry walked over to Severus and stood in front of him. "How was your week?" Harry asked sincerely.

Severus felt taken aback by Harry's politeness. He didn't expect to actually be working with Harry in such a way that they would be like familiar coworkers. A part of him wanted it to go back the way it had always been: Harry being his student and him being the professor. "It was fine. Paige and I spent a lot of time cleaning." He answered with a confused look on his face.

"The real fun begins now. Some Intel has been coming in about a few Death Eaters meeting underground who are trying to revolt. They want Voldemort back even though he is dead. Some of these Death Eaters you even knew. I thought you could start by writing some letters to old acquaintances. Let them know that you are alive and are thinking about joining their efforts." Harry explained with detail.

"Writing letters?" Severus questioned as if the idea sounded stupid. "I don't think Death Eaters will respond to that. They're not the writing type."

"I don't want anyone going undercover until we know for sure that this is going on. The best way is to start conversation and see if anyone is willing to let any information slip if they write you back. I know it sounds absurd, but it's the best way to get started. If any of them write back, it will give us assurance that some of the Death Eaters still trust you. You were Voldemort's most trusted Death Eater. I'm sure a few of them will remember that and be willing to let something slip."

Severus remembered how he was Voldemort's favorite. It still stung that the man had tried to kill him and had nearly succeeded. Apparently, loyalty meant nothing to Lord Voldemort since Severus had stayed by his side from the beginning, even if it meant that he had been playing both sides. "Very well." Severus said to agree to the task at hand. "If I do go undercover at any point, will Paige be provided with some type of protection?"

"I'm not sure. The Ministry is running low on Aurors since the war. The Ministry is still trying to be put back together. I'll see if it can be arranged if the time does come." Harry explained, being honest about the situation.

Severus nodded and grabbed a bit of parchment and a quill that had been placed on his desk. A list of the potential Death Eaters in question had been provided for him so he would know whom to write. He started writing on a piece of parchment but Harry still stood in front of him, clearly not finished with his discussion.

"There is going to be a get together at The Weasleys tomorrow night if you would like to come. You could bring Paige if you want." Harry offered, acting a little awkward but his intentions were sincere.

Severus looked up at Harry and raised an eyebrow at him. "You're inviting me?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Yes." Harry answered. "It's a dinner and since you've just gotten back, I thought you might like to go. It might help Paige feel more welcome in our world too."

"I'll think about it." Severus stated before going back to writing a letter.

"We're meeting at 7 PM if you decide to go." Harry mentioned before walking away and leaving Severus to his work.

After work, Severus went home to Spinner's End. He entered the door to see Paige scrubbing one of the windows. She stepped down from a ladder when she heard him enter and walked over to him. "How did it go?" She asked, smiling at him.

"It was alright. Anyways, how would you like to go to dinner tomorrow at another wizarding family's house?" Severus asked.

"Sure." She replied. She stood there in a white t-shirt, overalls, and her hair was up. The t-shirt had become all dirty from cleaning and she even had patches of dirt on her face. Some hair had fallen into her face and a few beads of sweat were on her face.

Severus grinned at her and thought she looked sexy with the dirt on her face. "You've done a very good job cleaning. There is actually light in the place now."

"Thank you. I'd like to think that us muggles are good for something, even if it is just for cleaning." She joked with a slight grin.

"Well, you should be rewarded." He growled playfully and pulled her close, taking her in for a kiss on the lips. He could taste a bit of sweat on her lips, which made them taste salty. He liked it and kissed her harder.

After a few seconds of passionate kissing, Severus pushed her against the wall. His hands undid the straps of her overalls before he slid a hand up her shirt and gently caressed her breast. A moan escaped her lips and entered his as they kissed. Eventually, he picked her up and carried her upstairs to his room.

Shortly after their escapades, Severus had fallen asleep. Paige didn't mind since she figured he was tired from work and everything else. She decided she would take a shower to clean all the dirt and other things off of her. She walked to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. She turned on the water and waited for it to heat up a big before she stepped under it. Once she did, she rinsed all of the dirt and grime off of her body.

The hot water relaxed her even more and she had always enjoyed a good shower since her life had been stressful throughout the years. After she was clean, she turned off the water and grabbed a clean towel, which was hanging on a bar next to the shower. She wrapped it around her body sarong style and headed over to the mirror. She combed her hair with a brush until her hair was slick and straight.

After Paige left the bathroom, she went back to the bedroom and opened up a drawer to the dresser quietly. She pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a tank top that she had bought when she went shopping for clothes with Severus during his week off before work. She didn't have any belongings so Severus had agreed to buy her some. She had left behind the life before she had met Severus. She didn't want to go back to an abusive father and family who stood by and idly watched like it was nothing.

Paige let the towel fall to the ground and she quietly slipped on the pajama pants and tank top. Afterwards, she climbed into the bed quietly and moved her body towards Severus. She could feel the heat coming off of his body and it helped her body relax even more. Her eyes started to close when a word escaped Severus' mouth as he slept. "Lily." He muttered out loud in his sleep.

Paige's heart sank as she heard this name. She wondered who this woman was that Severus had been dreaming about. She had just had sex with Severus and he was saying someone else's name. She didn't want to assume the worst, but she just couldn't help it. She scooted over to her own side of the bed and laid there, facing away from Severus. The rest of the night she barely slept as she wondered who this other woman was.

In the morning when Severus woke up, he turned to see that Paige wasn't in bed. He heard some noises downstairs and figured she was already awake. He went downstairs quietly, rubbing his eyes since they were still groggy. He smelt something cooking so he sat at the kitchen table. He watched Paige come over to him and set a bit of scrambled eggs on a plate in front of him. "So who's Lily?" She asked without warning before sitting the pan back on the stove.

Severus stared at his eggs and felt conflicted. He didn't know how she knew that name and he didn't feel like explaining it to her. "No one." He replied simply.

"She can't be no one since you said her name in your sleep last night." Paige explained before walking back over to him.

"I don't feel like talking about it." He said as he picked at his eggs with a fork. He didn't feel like eating now.

"Well, maybe I do. Maybe I want to know who this Lily person is." Paige kept pressing for the facts.

Severus stood up. "Don't you ever say her fucking name again!" He shouted in her face.

Paige looked slightly frightened and shocked by him. Severus went to reach for her but she had walked back over to the stove, not looking at him. He didn't mean to have such an outburst like that but Lily was such a touchy topic for him. "I-I have to go to work." He mentioned before going upstairs and getting dressed. He knew that nothing he said right now would make it okay.

After Snape left for work, Paige stayed in the house. From that moment on, Paige knew she would always be the second woman. She knew that Lily would always be more important than her, no matter what. She didn't understand why considering she didn't know Lily and she was the one living with Severus, but if such an outburst came from someone over just saying the person's name, she knew she would be second forever.


	9. Chapter 9: Where I'm Needed

After Severus had gone to work, he sat at his own desk again. He began writing more letters since he didn't feel like really talking to anyone. He felt stressed so he wrote more frantically, trying to get a letter sent to each of these people. He didn't know why he snapped at Paige. Now, he just felt completely horrible about how he had yelled at her.

Even though Severus had wanted to be alone, Harry came over to him again and had another discussion with him. "Have you received any responses to any of the letters yet?" He asked.

"No."

"Have you wrote everyone on the list yet?"

"No."

"Well, try to finish it today so there will be a greater chance for a response." Harry explained.

"I know. I'm not stupid, Potter." Severus snapped at him slightly.

"I know that you're not stupid. I was merely saying. You have no reason to snap at me. Is something wrong?" He asked sincerely. This was the man who had treated him so poorly throughout his childhood years, but the man had still helped him.

Severus sighed. "I yelled at Paige earlier."

"Did you apologize?"

"No, and I can't believe I'm telling you this." Severus said, feeling weird for talking to Harry about his personal life. On the other hand, he really had no one else to talk to about these problems. Usually he kept them bottled up, but then things like snapping at people or yelling at them occurred.

"Well, you should apologize and give her some flowers or something." Harry stated, giving his piece of mind to try and help Severus.

Severus just sighed and nodded before continuing to write.

"I hope I'll see you two later at the Weasley's." Harry mentioned before he took off and went back to his own work.

Severus continued to write more letters for the better part of the day. He thought his skills and time would be better spent elsewhere, but he wasn't going to argue with a paycheck coming in every week. He just wanted to be able to help people instead of sitting behind a desk and writing stupid letters. Then again, most of his life he had spent trying to be involved in the conflict, and now that he was out of it, he felt kind of bored.

After work, Severus headed back to his home. He took Harry's advice to heart and decided to apologize to Paige. He saw her sitting on the sofa, reading one of his many books so he walked over to her. "Paige?" He questioned as he had one arm behind his back.

She didn't say anything to him so he knelt down in front of her and took her book away. He sat the book on the table behind him and looked at her. "I'm sorry." He apologized before pulling out a single red rose from behind his back. "I didn't mean to yell at you."

Paige took the rose and smelled it before looking at him. "We should probably get ready to go to this dinner. It's in a couple of hours." She said before standing up and not addressing his apology. She just walked up the stairs and went to get dressed.

Severus sighed and sat on the couch. He didn't know what to do. He didn't really want to tell her about Lily, but he didn't want her to be upset with him either. He cared about Paige, more than he had cared about anyone in a long time. The problem was, Severus still loved Lily to some degree. He just wasn't sure he was ready to love anyone else yet.

Paige came downstairs in a black cocktail dress a while later. "You look beautiful." He complimented as he stood up, getting ready to head upstairs.

"I guess." She replied, sounding ungrateful for his compliment.

Severus went upstairs and didn't understand why she kept punishing him like this. He just wanted her to forgive him. He looked pretty grim as he put on a clean pair of his usual black clothes. He didn't feel like sprucing himself up for this occasion. The Weasleys and everyone else were used to seeing him like this so he wasn't about to go and impress anybody.

After getting dressed, Severus went downstairs and took Paige to the apparation spot. They popped onto the Weasley's ground before walking up to the door and knocking on it. Mrs. Weasley opened the door and she actually had a slight look of surprise on her face from seeing Severus at her doorstep. "Oh what a surprise! Come in! Come in!" She exclaimed, opening up the door for them and moving out of the way.

Paige and Severus entered the Burrow to see Mr. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione. Most of the Weasley family was sticking around for a while because of the war that had happened not that long ago. Even Charlie had given up the dragons for a short while to be with his family after the death of Fred.

"Dinner will be shortly so feel free to chat amongst everyone. I'm sure Hermione and Ginny would love talking to you, Paige." Mrs. Weasley explained, pointing to the two girls in the living room while most of the others were in the kitchen or upstairs.

Paige just gave Mrs. Weasley a slight smile and sat on one of the sofas in the living room. Severus walked over to Mr. Weasley and Charlie who were heatedly discussing something. "Dragons belong in the wild, not chained up in Gringotts to protect peoples' money!" Charlie exclaimed at his father.

Severus decided to step in and give his piece of mind. "Dragons are powerful beings. They should not be taken lightly." He stated before sitting down and joining their conversation for no apparent reason. Sometimes he liked stirring up trouble since it would make him feel better when he could create such distress amongst people over a simple discussion.

Meanwhile, Paige sat quietly until Hermione came over and sat by her. "You look upset about something. Are you adjusting to the wizarding world alright?" She asked curiously and sincerely.

"I'm fine." Paige replied simply.

Harry and Ron had made their way over to the group in order to be with Hermione and Ginny. "It's Severus isn't it?" Harry asked.

Paige didn't respond. Her silence was enough to give him an answer.

"Listen. He isn't always the nicest person. We have all experienced that first hand but he cares about you. I can tell and that is pretty rare with Severus. I actually think he loves you." Harry explained and slightly defended Snape.

Paige sighed and looked down at the ground. "He doesn't love me. He is in love with someone named Lily." She confessed.

"Lily is dead." Harry admitted quietly, the topic obviously still bothering him after all these years.

Paige looked up at Harry. "How do you know that? Who is she?" She asked, wanting answers now.

"She was my mother." He answered in almost a whisper. Ginny put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him a little. "He was in love with her but made some bad choices. He was never with her and blamed himself for that everyday. I'm sure that he cares about you and if he doesn't, you could always leave to make him realize what he would be giving up."

A tear rolled down Paige's cheek. "I can't. I fell in love with him and I'm pregnant." She admitted to the four of them.

"BLOODY HELL!!!!!" Ron shouted at the top of his lungs because he was unable to believe his professor could have a child. The thought of Snape having sex crept him out beyond words.

Everyone turned to Ron, even those who weren't in their conversation. "Behave yourself Ronald Weasley! You shouldn't use such language in front of guests!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Sorry mum. I stubbed my toe." He lied in order to not cause more of a scene.

Mrs. Weasley gave him a look and continued to carry on with preparing dinner.

"You should tell him." Harry stated before Mrs. Weasley told everyone it was time for dinner.

The huge group of people managed to sit around the table. It was lightly crowded but after a couple of spells to make the table longer, everything worked out alright. They ate the dinner but Paige picked at her food with a fork. For someone who was pregnant, she didn't feel like eating very much. Everything was weighing down on her: her relationship with Snape, her pregnancy, and her new life in this strange world. Everything was different and overwhelming so she didn't know what to do. Most of all, she didn't want to be with someone who didn't love her.

After dinner, people chatted for a while before leaving. Paige and Severus went back to Spinner's End for the night. Paige remained quiet once they had arrived at home and the silence was starting to kill Severus. "I've already apologized. I don't know what else you want from me." He informed her.

"I don't want to be second to a dead woman." Paige admitted harshly.

Hatred started to form on Severus' face. "Don't you dare talk about her like that! She was wonderful and a great witch!"

"Big emphasis on the was! She's gone! I'm here and she's not! If you want to wallow in your past and still be in love with the past, then go ahead! I don't have to stick around and be here for it! I can go out and find someone who will actually care about me and love me for me!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

"You don't have anywhere to go!" He yelled at her, not sure of what else to say at this point. He didn't know how to make things better. In reality, he thought he could never make things right at any point in his life.

"I'll go somewhere that actually needs me since it's apparent that I'm not needed here." She said through gritted teeth, trying to hold back her tears. She started heading towards the door but Severus grabbed her wrist and turned her around.

He clenched his wand tight in his hand, obviously upset and not aware of what to do in a situation like this. Paige glanced down and saw his wand, which made her think he was going to use it. "So what are you going to do? Use your wand on me to force me to stay?" She asked with slight anger in her voice.

A sigh escaped his lips and he let her wrist go. "No." He said before turning around, his back facing her.

Paige felt surprised for a moment. "Severus?" She questioned. She didn't receive a response so she figured something was wrong, even though she knew this big explosion they just had with each other was probably it. Deep down, she cared about him too much to just leave him, even if he didn't feel the same way about her. "Look at me." She demanded.

Severus turned to face her and a tear had rolled down his cheek. "I'm not sure what to say or do. This is new for me. You're actually here and not dead. I don't think I've ever loved someone while they were actually here in my presence, and loving me back." He explained quietly, trying to avoid her eyes.

She walked up to him and wiped away his tear with her hand. "Life doesn't make sense. I can guarantee that most of the time it won't and it will be so confusing, you won't know what to do." She explained.

Severus hated it when she was so inquisitive sometimes. He knew life could be confusing but she always found a way to say certain things. "Just because I don't say certain words, doesn't mean I don't feel it." He mentioned before pulling her close and kissing her on the lips gently. "I really do love you."

Paige looked at him with caring eyes. "I love you too." She said, realizing that for once things might actually be fine. She thought that maybe Severus really could be happy with her and that she wouldn't be second. She knew that Severus would love Lily forever, but she wasn't there, and so he would love her forever too. He could actually be with her and have the life he had always dreamed of having.


	10. Chapter 10: Life Turning Around

In the morning, Severus found himself staring at the beautiful Paige laying next to him. After the revelations from the night before, Severus had a strong desire to watch her sleep. He had gotten a few hours of sleep during the night but then he decided to keep his eyes fixed on her. A part of him felt that if he didn't watch her, she would somehow cease to exist, that she wouldn't be real and just a vague dream. Severus worried about this because his life never seemed simple and good things rarely happened to him.

Since the morning was now brightly shining through the window, Severus leaned towards Paige's ear and whispered into it. "Good morning sleepyhead." He teased since he usually didn't sleep in that late.

Paige moaned and turned to face him. "Good-" She quickly clasped her hand over her mouth before running to the bathroom.

This started Severus so he raced to the bathroom to hear her throw up into the toilet. He kneeled down next to her and held her hair out of her face. He brushed the back of his hand against her cheek gently. "Are you okay?" He asked with concern.

"No." She replied while trying to catch her breath from regurgitating.

"What's wrong?" He asked with eyes that looked half worried.

She finally looked at him while clutching her stomach with one of her arms. "I'm pregnant." Her secret was now out.

Severus wrapped his arms around her carefully so he wouldn't make her even sicker to her stomach. He didn't know how to feel since he thought all hope of having a child of his own was lost. He never found anyone to be with until Paige and he didn't give much thought about having a child since he had gotten older. He wondered if the horrible events in his pasts were now being made up for with wonderful ones.

"I can stay home from work today if you're feeling that sick." He offered to her after he pulled away from the hug.

"You don't have to do that."

"It's no trouble at all." He then picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom. He sat her down on the bed and pulled the comforter over her. "Just rest."

Paige rested for most of the day and in fact, she slept through most of it. When it was dark outside, she finally awoke and could hear noise coming from one of the extra rooms in the house. To discover what the noise was, Paige left the bed and went to the guest room. She found Severus painting the walls a dark blue color with a paint roller and paint supplies were on the floor.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously, the fumes from the paint slightly bothering her but she tried to ignore it.

Severus turned to face her. He had on a white t-shirt that was covered in paint in several places along with blue jeans that had paint on them too. "You're awake." He stated obviously.

Paige glanced around the room for a moment so Severus answered her question. "I'm painting a nursery for the baby."

"But the baby won't be here for a few months." She explained to him. "And why are you painting the room dark blue? You don't know it's a boy."

"You're right. I don't." He confessed. "I am painting it this color because I'm going to put gold and yellow stars and a sun. Then a blue moon will go on the ceiling too because I want to give my child the universe."

Paige smiled at him. "That's so sweet," she said. "You know, you look really sexy in those clothes with the paint on you."

Severus grinned mischievously. "Are you tempted by me?" He asked in a seductive tone.

"Of course." She grinned but then made a nauseous face. "You should open the window a crack because of the paint fumes. They make me kind of nauseous."

Severus quickly opened a window. "Sorry. Are you feeling any better?" He asked sincerely.

She nodded. "Yes. I'm just kind of hungry now."

"I'll make you something. Just have a seat at the kitchen table." Severus said to her before cleaning up a bit and then heading to the kitchen.

Severus grabbed a couple of frying pans and set them on the stove before turning on the burners. He found some chicken and broccoli that he decided to cook for dinner. He decided to cook the chicken and broccoli in some light oil since he didn't want to cook anything that would be too intense on Paige's stomach. His first concern was her and then the baby. The baby's health concerned him just as much as Paige so he wanted to feed them food that would be remotely healthy.

After he cooked the food, Severus placed it on a couple of plates and gave one to Paige. He grabbed a couple of glasses and filled them with milk. "I hope this is okay. I'm not the greatest cook but I learned some things since I've lived alone for so many years." He explained before joining her at the table.

Paige cut some of the chicken and then shoved it into her mouth. "This is actually pretty good." She complimented before eating some more of the chicken and then trying the broccoli.

Once Severus knew she was pleased with his cooking, he began to eat himself. He couldn't help but feel happiness for once in his life considering he had someone that cared about him and that person was going to be the mother of his child. He never really thought about being with anyone other than Lily, and especially not with someone who was a muggle. If there was one thing Severus learned throughout his life was that it didn't matter if someone was a mudblood, pureblood, halfblood, or even a muggle born. He didn't care about those things anymore, even more so after Lord Voldemort had betrayed him.

After the two finished eating, Severus cleaned up the dishes so Paige wouldn't have to worry about doing any work that might be too stressful for her and the baby. A part of him wanted to help now more than ever. He had been the one in charge and giving orders to people for so long, that he kind of forgot what it was like to actually help people and do stuff for others.

"You don't have to do all of this." Paige stated quietly. "You're going to tire yourself out if you try and do everything."

"I have magic to help me and I don't want too much stress on you or the baby." He explained. "I really don't mind."

Paige stood up from the table and walked over to Severus. She placed a soft kiss on his lips as she watched him finish the dishes by hands, even though he could have easily used magic to do them. She figured he wanted to do some things the muggle way so that she wouldn't feel out of place.

"Why don't you go upstairs and lay down?" Severus questioned. "I'll meet you up there in a few minutes."

Paige nodded and headed upstairs. Severus followed her trail only a few minutes after her. He went to their bedroom and sat down on the bed, leaning his back up against the headboard. Paige was doing the same thing and she had a book in her hand, one of the many from Severus' collection. She placed the book back on the nightstand when Severus came into the room.

Severus seemed to be feeling awkward about something. "I'm not really sure how to go about doing this."

"Doing what?" Paige asked with a confused voice.

He kept being rather cryptic. "I've never been good at these things. I just know that, I want you to marry me." He finally let out.

"Oh." Paige said with a look of shock. It wasn't what she was expecting to hear from him. She didn't know what she really expected his problem to be but this was definitely not what she thought it was.

Pulling a tiny ring out of his jeans, Severus looked at Paige and held the ring in front of her. It was just a simple gold band with a tiny heart shaped diamond on it. "I know it's not a really big diamond, but I figured it would be something you would like."

"It's perfect." Paige smiled at him. "Of course I will marry you."

Snape smiled and gently slid the ring onto Paige's left hand. She held out her hand so she could examine the ring. "It looks perfect too. Thank you." She said before kissing Severus really hard on the lips.

He growled playfully at her. "Don't tempt me woman."

"I thought I always tempted you?" She teased him with a smirk on her face.

"Not when you were throwing up this morning." He joked and gave her a mischievous grin.

Paige slapped him gently on the shoulder before laying down on the bed. Severus looked at her for a moment and then at her belly. "May I touch your stomach?" He asked as if he really needed permission. It was more him being worried about hurting the baby than anything. He knew it was stupid to worry about such a thing, but a part of him felt like he would start to get attached. He just worried that everything was too good to be true.

"Sure." She said softly and watched him with caring eyes.

Severus gently lifted up her shirt to expose her belly before he carefully placed his hand on her smooth skin. He rubbed his hand in circles and then leaned down and kissed her stomach softly. He left his mouth near her stomach and spoke to it. "Hey baby. I'm your father."

Paige snickered at him slightly but thought it was rather cute. Severus laid his head on her stomach and Paige stroked his hair gently. "We're going to be so happy." She stated as she kept doing the rhythmic pattern of stroking his hair. It helped her relax and she closed her eyes slowly.

"I know we are." Severus muttered quietly since his eyes were already closed. He was starting to drift off to sleep and as he did, he felt a calming affect come over him. For once in his life he felt like everything might actually turn out halfway decently. Years of his life had been the same meaningless routines where he would do nothing more than teach the students of Hogwarts and be alone without anyone in his life.

Now, Severus Snape had a purpose for his once meaningless life. He had found someone to share his life with and that was Paige. He never thought he would find anyone yet alone, be happy with that person. He had found what he wanted and soon he would also have a family. These were things he had only dreamed about and never thought would happen to him. Things were definitely starting to turn around and for once in a long time, Severus Snape smiled before he went to bed. He felt at peace and he finally felt whole.


	11. Chapter 11: Never Thought

There were many things Severus Snape never thought he would be able to do in his life: fall in love, get married, have a child, and yet alone, even have a life. Somehow, someway, Severus was able to do all of these things which caught him off guard considering his life had been far from normal. Most of his life he spent regretting the past, or trying to make up for it, but now he lived in the present. On some level, Severus realized that maybe he was alive for a reason, even though he should have been dead. Maybe this was the life he was truly supposed to have.

If Severus had never survived, he never could have saved Paige that night in the hotel, saved her from the abusive father that she had. In retrospect, she never would have saved him, and to be honest, Severus was in desperate need of saving, on more levels than one. Despite the life he had lived, he needed saving on the levels of love, emotion, and even the redemption of his soul. Paige had managed to save his soul somehow, he wasn't sure how, but she did and to say the least, he felt like for the first time in his life, that his life meant something and he had purpose.

Getting up from bed slowly and walking into the main hallway, he ventured into one of the extra rooms in the house, opening the door and seeing his beloved Paige, a tiny baby in her arms wrapped in a pink blanket. If there was one thing that Severus never expected, it was being a father, and he definitely never expected his child to be a girl. It's not that he didn't think about having a daughter, he had always pictured a boy in his mind, but nevertheless, he was happy to have a child, even if it was a girl.

Trying to stay as quiet as possible, Severus walked over to Paige, wrapping one arm around her waist while he leaned in to look at the beautiful girl in her arms. Celest, they had named her, since Severus wanted to give her the universe and the thought of celestial beings came to his mind. He just thought it was the perfect name for her and Paige thought so too.

Severus leaned downward, pressing his lips to Celest's forehead and kissing it gently. "She's beautiful, like her mother." He gleamed with joy as he smiled at Paige. Then he raised his hand and rubbed it gently over the spot he had just kissed her, also feeling her feathery soft brown hair that was barely there at this point since she was still only a few weeks old.

Paige smiled back at him before setting the baby back down into her crib gently. "She's asleep. I've never seen a baby behave so well at so young an age." She almost cooed, looking happier than ever.

After the baby was back down, Paige left the room without making a sound, letting Snape shut the door behind him. The two went downstairs since it was morning and the time that Paige usually made breakfast for the two. Letting Paige cook in the kitchen since she enjoyed it so much, Severus sat at the table staring at Paige contently. While he stared at her, a memory came back to him from their wedding day: a memory that was the very moment he had let go of the past.

_Severus stood in the groom's chambers, standing in front of the mirror with a black dress robes on, trying to straighten his tie. Failing successfully at this point, he heard a knock at the door before a young messy haired boy came in, a former student of his by the name of Harry Potter. Working at the Ministry of Magic in the Aurors Department had given Snape a chance to know Harry in a whole different light. On some level, Severus even considered Harry a friend, regardless of their past history._

_A slight smirk spread across Severus' lips as he noticed Harry's untamed hair, remembering how the boy could never do much with it. Giving Harry a questioning glance and forgetting about his tie for a moment, he finally decided to ask why Harry was even here. "Are they waiting for me or is there some other reason that you're here right now?"_

"_I just came to see if you needed help." Harry replied thoughtfully, smiling at his former Potions Professor. "You look nice by the way." Noticing that Snape had failed with his tie, Harry stepped in and was able to tie it perfectly before straightening it. "There. Now you will be ready."_

_Standing there awkwardly for a moment, Snape turned to face Harry, looking rather nervous. "I'm not sure how to be a husband." He admitted, which was something he never would have dreamed of doing before his life had completely changed. Being that close to death and surviving changed his life and so the things he normally wouldn't do, he did now, or did on some level that was able to be deemed appropriate._

"_It's probably just a trial and error type thing," Harry explained to the best of his knowledge since he had no experience in the subject either. "I'm just glad to see you happy. I'm sure she would want you to be happy too."_

_The words caught Snape off guard since he wasn't sure who Harry meant when he said "she". "Who do you mean?" He asked, having a gut feeling already about who his former student had meant._

"_My mother," replied Harry. "She would want you to be happy, no matter what happened between you two."_

_Severus clenched his teeth together at the mention of Lily Potter since he knew how horrible he had treated her in the past and the terrible falling out they had. "I am happy." Severus admitted, letting a sigh escape him. "It took me a long time to let her go, a lot longer than I ever thought. To be honest, I never thought I would be able to let her go, but then I met Paige and my entire life changed. Sometimes I think your mother may have had a doing in all of this, no matter how ridiculous that sounds. A part of me thinks that she might have sent Paige to me when I needed someone the most."_

Every fiber of Severus's being believed that as he watched her cook breakfast. His life was somehow complete with her and she gave him a child, making his life all that it could be, especially with the job he had at the Ministry. He didn't think life could be any more fulfilling until 11 years later when his very own daughter was going off to Hogwarts. Never in his mind had he ever imagined little Celest Snape going off to Hogwarts to learn the very same things he had once learned.

********************

"Daddy! Come on!" Celest shouted as she held her father's hand, dragging him over to where the train was now boarding. Paige followed closely behind, several witches and wizards staring at the sight of Severus Snape being with a muggle, and most of all having a family of his own.

As he tried to keep up with his daughter, Snape allowed himself to be pulled along, being rather amused by his own daughter's excitement about going to Hogwarts. He remembered when he had wanted to go, already knowing magic before he got there, but wanting nothing more than to fit in. However, Snape had fallen into the wrong crowd when he was at Hogwarts so a part of him feared that his daughter would go through the same thing, but with Voldemort and all the other threats out of the way, Severus figured she would be okay.

Once they reached the train, Celest stopped and Severus kneeled down before her, brushing a bit of her long brown hair out of her face, hair similar to that of her mother's. The more his daughter had aged, the more he realized she looked more like her mother, but her personality she got from her father. Celest's eagerness to learn and do new things bothered Severus at times, causing him to worry that she would fall into the wrong crowd or do the wrong things, but he raised her the best way he knew how and realized that everyone has to make mistakes in order to live through life. Severus sure knew he had made enough mistakes of his own, but those mistakes had made his life better on some level.

"Just try to get along with everyone okay?" Severus questioned slightly, giving her some advice that he never received and probably would have benefited from.

Celest looked at him with her big brown eyes. "What if the other kids don't like me?" She asked with worry in her voice, afraid that she wouldn't fit in and make any friends.

Snape smiled at her sadly, wanting his daughter to fit in more than anything but also because a part of his heart was wanting to just pull her way from this train and take her back home, not wanting to let her go since she was the only child he ever had. "Don't worry about it honey. I'm sure they're going to love you." Then he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Remember to write us at least once a week or your mother and I will go insane." A slight smile crept across his lips when he said that.

A smile crept across Celest's lips too, just like her father's. "Alright. I'll try if I'm not too busy." Then she smirked and held up her hand, showing that her middle finger and pointer finger were crossed. "Here's hoping I get into Gryffindor!" She shouted with excitement.

Severus chuckled. "I'll be happy with whatever house you get into." Snape truly meant those words since he knew that a lot of Slytherins didn't turn out right, including him at some point, and all of the other houses seemed like better options, including Gryffindor since most of the members of Gryffindor were brave and had turned out decent.

Hugging his daughter one last time tightly, he then let her go, trying to hold back the tears as he let his daughter hug her mother. Before he knew it, he was watching her board the train, searching all the windows with his eyes to see which compartment she had sat down in. Finally finding the one, he saw her waving out the window so he waved back, a huge smile on his face since his daughter was so happy.

As he watched the train disappear into the distance, he wrapped his arm around Paige and smiled at her, realizing that his life was complete and he was perfectly content with what he had been given, or in this case, what he had found, depending on whether or not Lily had actually sent Paige to him somehow. The thought had always crossed his mind so he was grateful for that, because on some level, it allowed him to leave Lily in his past.

While he walked back to the apparation spot with Paige, a huge smile spread across Snape's face, causing it to light up like never before. His life was full of happiness and people that made it so. No matter how Snape looked at his happiness, or tried to explain it to himself, he just figured that everything happens for a reason. Paige saved his life so obviously he was meant to live, live to save her and be with her and have a child. Nothing more could make Snape happier than he was now, knowing that his life was complete and that in all aspects, he had truly lived on.


End file.
